Arm/Hand Placement When Climbing Stairs

5-2-07. Self Study Book #1. 29 years old. “There are no problems, only solutions” were the words from a song I heard today. The song immediately brought a personal struggle of mine into examination, stair climbing. The staircase is divided into two sections, of seven steps each, with a three foot square platform serving as the midpoint. There was a time when climbing up the stairs was a bit nerve wrecking for me. I once split a tooth in half when my face landed on the railing as I was walking up the stairs. Naturally after that experience my hands tended to perspire and my body became tense when I would approach the platform. I started experimenting with walking up the stairs differently as a result of this nervousness. One thing I learned about having muscular dystrophy is you must learn other ways of doing the same thing if you want to stay ahead of the disorder. One solution I came up with only worked when I had my shoes off. But this approach only worked for a couple of months. Thoughts of failure and giving up occupied my mind with each new attempt that wouldn’t last. Every time I approached the platform my
body reminded me of the past facial fall. Then one day the correct method approached me in common hour. I found by extending my right arm further down the railing, at the platform point, I was able to bring my feet up quicker. By moving my hand further away from me I was putting less weight on my wrist. This also allowed more time for me to be patient without the fear of my wrist weakening and giving out. Giving up on walking up the stairs and into the self defeating thoughts was not an option for me. I wasn’t going to give up walking up those steps. Thankfully the correct approach showed up when I needed it most. “There are no problems, only solutions.”